D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Reduces Position in GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. decreased its stake in shares of GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) by 40.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,315 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,038 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in GMS were worth $1,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GMS. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GMS by 1,710.5% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 344 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of GMS during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of GMS by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 685 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GMS by 246.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 991 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GMS during the fourth quarter worth $193,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Theron I. Gilliam sold 12,474 shares of GMS stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.46, for a total transaction of $916,340.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,314,504.22. The trade was a 28.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. Turner, Jr. bought 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 66,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,684,960. The trade was a 5.77% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GMS. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on GMS from $110.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group set a $80.00 price objective on GMS in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on GMS from $97.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on GMS from $94.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on GMS from $80.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GMS presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.50.

GMS Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of GMS opened at $73.18 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.51. The stock has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 1.66. GMS Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.77 and a 12 month high of $105.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

GMS (NYSE:GMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.47). The company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. GMS had a return on equity of 20.67% and a net margin of 3.92%. Equities analysts forecast that GMS Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About GMS

GMS Inc distributes wallboard, ceilings, steel framing and complementary construction products in the United States and Canada. The company offers ceilings products, including suspended mineral fibers, soft fibers, and metal ceiling systems primarily used in offices, hotels, hospitals, retail facilities, schools, and various other commercial and institutional buildings.